Transformers Prime: To Turn A World Upside-Down
by TolkienGirl052
Summary: Raven Connelly never expected the truck she got on her 18th birthday to change her life. Raphael, a 12 year old computer geek, and Miko, a 14 year old with a love of monster trucks and rock, are now her responsibility. Along with a secret that weighs far too heavily on her shoulders. Is this the family she never had? Or another problem in a world that cares nothing for her?
1. Chapter 1: Author's Foreword

**TolkienGirl / Sarah here (formerly known as Gamergirl052).**

**I don't own Transformers Prime. If I did, it would be a pretty crappy show. For those who read my first posting of this story, I've revamped it and done my best to make it more interesting, as I'll be doing for all my stories.**

**I know this doesn't really have a place here now (after all, I posted my original as my first story in 2011) and there are many like this but I ask you to again give it a chance. I really will try to keep this good and not make Raven exactly like Jack. I will do this for the first little while, at least until I can develop Raven's character a little more.**

**I am sorry if Raven is too much like Jack. I will make her different in the coming chapters. I'm going to do my best to get to season 3 (sometime this year...) and after this chapter, no more of Jack's lines. I'm not really sure if Raven's 'guardian' is going to be Arcee or Ratchet yet (hey, gotta make it different) but I'll figure it out soon. Maybe it'll just go back and forth...**

**Anyways, with out further ado, read on dear readers.**

**With love,**

**Sarah**


	2. Chapter 2: Introductions

_**Dear Diary,**_

_**Mommy's sleeping. That's what daddy tells me every time I ask why mommy's eyes are closed. I'm sitting in her room, on the pretty red chair, writing this. I don't want to leave mommy because she said she would never leave me. The tall men in white say she can't hear me. I like to think she can.**_

Two hours later…

_**The machines attached to mommy stopped beeping a little while ago. The men and girlies in white came running in. I backed away, into the hall. A man came out a few minutes later. Daddy was gripping my shoulders like the steering wheel of his trucks. The doctor bowed his head and said they had tried every thing they could and that he was sorry. Daddy started crying but I just stood there. I knew I should've been crying, felt pain, but I didn't. It scared me almost as much as it scared daddy. I regret that this will be my last time writing in this. There's no point.**_

_**I died with her.**_

* * *

7 years later…

**Hey Raven,**

**Look I'm sorry but, you've been fired. I don't know why. I thought you might've wanted to hear it from me.**

**Please don't hate me!**

**-Sophie**

**- / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / - / -**

**Sophie,**

**I could never hate you. I just don't know what to do now.**

**I'll talk to you at school tomorrow.**

**-Raven**

I sighed in deep frustration, brushing my short, caramel colored hair out of my face and hit send. "Well that's just great." I kicked the wall behind my desk and nearly broke my toes but I couldn't have cared less. The people in my group home had a knack for being stubborn when it comes to any kind of emotion. The four of us-Alex, a sixteen year old, Melinda, the youngest being fourteen, myself being eighteen and...and Daniel, an eighteen year old with certain issues-lived in Jasper, Navada which was a small, middle of nowhere town. A loud honk broke the usually still Saturday evening air and I immediately shut my laptop lid. I jumped up and ran to the window, throwing the white curtains aside. Sitting in the driveway was a rusty, old red and blue Mack truck. My best friend Alex Turner was in the driver's seat beckoning for me to come down. I pulled on my dark grey sweater and sauntered down the stairs, letting my hand absentmindedly slide down the banister. I padded out the door bare foot and stopped beside the window, crossing my arms over my chest, a broad smile on my face. He pushed open the door and hopped out, landing on the pavement slightly unbalanced so I had to grab his arm to keep him from falling over.

"Now I know it's not a car but…" He started.

"It's beautiful Alex!" I exclaimed, interrupting, hoping to conceal my disappointment and threw my arms around him.

"Happy birthday Raven." He hugged me back before pulling away, his expression turned serious and he grabbed my arm. "Do you hear that?" Sure enough, I could make out the distant sound of a motorcycle's engine coming closer and closer. "Raven, you've got to get out of here. Before he gets back." I nodded, shoving down my fear and forcing myself to be brave. I climbed up into the old truck. The leather upholstery was cracked and worn out but it was comfortable. Alex closed the door behind me, a sad look on his face and nodded. I gave a weak smile back as he tossed me the keys through the open window. I turned the key in the ignition and the engine hummed to life. I grasped the steering wheel and slowly backed out of the driveway, watching Alex disappear inside to hide Melinda before Daniel got home. I knew Daniel would hurt Alex badly, but after the first time Daniel had come home drunk, Alex always sent me away.

Taking deep breaths, trying to keep my panic and fear down, I drove to a Pay&Wash station, grabbed the hose and filled a bucket with water. I scrubbed the truck down with CLR first, then rinsed it off. The rust and dirt were quickly washed away. Soon, the truck sparkled in the late afternoon sunlight. Satisfied, I climbed back inside the truck and drove to the only place I could be safe. It was a cliff, overlooking several fields and the Rockies, 10 kilometers away from my house. A beautiful sunset cast a golden glow over the dusty desert plain bellow me. I strode over to a tree and jumped up, clinging to the lowest branch. I swung myself back and forth before letting go, using the momentum to swing myself to the next branch, up and over, landing somewhat disoriented on the limb.

"Maybe I should jump." I said to myself, looking down. I pulled back and mentally slapped myself. "What's wrong with me? Melinda and Alex need me." I waited until the sun had dipped below the mountains before I dropped down and walked back to where I had parked my new truck. I heard laughing and tires screeching. My walked turned into a sprint and I reached it just in time to see a pick-up truck pull away in a cloud of dust.

"Damn." I swore under my breath.

On the door, in bright green spray paint, LOSER was written.

"I'm so sorry." I whispered. "Great, now I'm talking to a truck. Maybe I am a loser." I climbed in and the truck sputtered to life. I blinked in surprise because I didn't remember leaving the truck on. I shrugged it off and found the nearest gas station. I asked the owner if he had anything that would remove spray paint. He handed me a bottle of alcohol and a cloth. I searched my pockets for money to pay for it but he stopped me.

"It's on me." He smiled kindly. I smiled back, thanked him and left. But, when I got back outside, my truck was gone.

"Oh for the love of... Alex is going to kill me." I groaned. I started walking back into town but just outside the city limits, I got this chill down my spine. Glancing back, I noticed two sleek purple and black, unlicensed cars slowly cruising along behind me. I quickened my pace and stared straight ahead, panic making it hard to not freak out. The cars didn't go away. I started running, my bare feet earning many scrapes on the gravel along the side of the road. The cars still followed. I made it back into town and ducked inside the video store, holding my breath. The twin cars slowly cruised by.

Then, much to my relief, I saw my truck was sitting turned off in one of the parking spots at the grocery store across the road. I sprinted out of the store, across the busy street which made a bunch of people honk at me and pulled open my truck's door. I jumped inside, shutting it behind me and didn't touch anything but the engine started to back up. I checked for the keys but couldn't find them. I considered getting out but as I turned to the door, the lock clicked in place by itself.

"Raven." Came a deep voice over the speakers.

"W...who are you?" I demanded, slightly frightened.

"Raven, you must listen to me. Get out and run as far away as you can." I didn't argue. The door unlocked once more and I jumped out, sprinting away as soon as my feet hit the pavement. But after a few moments, the ground beneath me began to shake. I didn't dare steal a glance behind me for fear of what I would see. I made it on to the freeway, the bridge over the empty South Platte Reservoir but the other end was closed for construction. The tremors grew until I almost couldn't stand on my own two feet. I ducked under the bridge and scurried down the concrete slope, dropping down into the abandoned waterway.

"Hey!" Someone called. I turned to see a boy, no older than twelve, sitting about six meters away with a remote-controlled yellow and black toy car. He had a spiky mop of light brown hair, dark brown eyes and red-rimmed glasses. He was wearing an orange sweater-vest, jeans and sneakers which made me remember him. This was the kid I'd seen be tripped in the hall at school today, and I'd helped him out. Raphael.

"Oh, uh, hey Raph." I smiled and strode over, trying to come up with a good explanation. Turns out I didn't have to because to my horror, I heard the revving of an engine and looked up just in time to see the purple and black cars zooming towards us. Not bothering to explain, I pulled Raph to his feet as the cars...transformed into 35 foot tall robots. With lasers. But what surprised me the most was that as I shuffled Raph away, a shorter, feminine looking blue robot appeared seemingly out of nowhere and engaged the other robots.

"What are they?" Raph asked, totally in awe.

"I seriously have no clue kid." I replied, just as shocked but slightly less afraid than before. We watched the giants fight and the seemingly 'good' one appeared to be winning. One of the purple robots shot at her and she did several backflips out of the way. A lucky shot hit her and sent her sliding back on the asphalt. At this point, I was becoming slightly concerned about my own truck...robot...or whatever. But the sound of yet another engine revving on the bridge above us broke my train of thought. A black and yellow muscle car flew off the side of the highway. And what do you know, another robot? It landed on a purple robot and punched the other. It continued fighting until both the 'bad' ones were down. But as it stepped back, there was a loud crunching noise. The robot lifted its foot and looked down. Despite the situation, I had to stifle a laugh. It had crushed Raph's toy car.

It made a few sad sounding beeps and whirls, probably an apology. "Don't worry about it. Really." Raph said but while it had been distracted, the other two robots had recovered. A red laser bolt hit the yellow and black robot, sending it to the ground. I bit my lip, contemplating whether or not I should do something but Raph beat me to the punch. "Leave him alone!" Weapons were turned on us. "Please?"

"Attention gained, game over. Time to go!" I grabbed Raph's arm and pulled him along with me as I ran. Now, don't get me wrong. I can take down a school bully or street punk in the blink of an eye. But robots that were at least six times our size? Anyone would've booked it out of there. Other than Chuck Norris of course. I pushed Raph up into a drainage pipe and climbed in after him. I paused as there were several loud crashes outside the pipe. The yellow and black robot looked in and made more noises.

"Thank you." Raph and I said at the same time. Then it was gone. Not sure what else to do, I pushed Raph along until we were on the other side of the drain. We climbed up the embankment and after making sure Raph got home okay, I headed back to my house. I silently slipped inside, knowing Daniel would be asleep by now. I found Alex lying on the couch, his face, arms and legs bruised and cut. The sight of him made my heart ache and a guilty feeling wash over me. I quietly took several ice packs from the freezer and laid them on the wounds, hoping to keep the swelling down. I covered him in a blanket so he wouldn't get too cold and turned off the lights. With one last sad glance back at the young man who'd fought so hard to protect us all, I headed upstairs. I opened the door to Melinda's room a crack and saw her typing away on her computer, headphones blaring loud music. She always did that when she was afraid. I walked into my room and powered down my own computer before changing into my pajamas and climbing into bed, the days events playing in my mind.

_Just forget it_. I told myself. _I'll talk to Raph tomorrow after school._ I fell asleep almost immediately, never bothering to check if my truck had come back.

* * *

School the next day was extremely normal. Or, more specifically, boring. I nearly fell asleep during history class. But when the final bell rang, I was up and out the door instantaneously. I shoved my books into my bag, picked up my violin case from the music room and headed out the front of the school. I sat on the steps as the buses pulled away, full of chatting, happy friends. Soon, only a few people who hung around after school for the clubs and such were left. It was a sunny day, but slightly chilly so I pulled the hood up on my grey sweater that I had torn the sleeves off of. It was too small for me now, but I was still able to fasten it with a piece of ribbon. There was no way I was throwing out something that still had some use. The other girls in school shot me sad or snooty looks whenever they saw me and what I was wearing.

_Pretty? Doubt it. Couldn't care less. _I would tell myself every time that happened.

Sighing, I opened my violin case and took out the shiny wooden instrument. I placed the bow to the strings and was about to play when I saw Raph. He was standing by a large tree near the corner of school grounds, waving at me to come over. I lowered my hands and walked over, still carrying my violin. "Hey Raph. Listen, lets just forget what happened yesterday, okay? Keep it to ourselves." I suggested.

There was a honk from close by and we both turned. Raph let out a gasp. "Look!" The same yellow and black car from yesterday pulled up in front of us and the door opened by itself. I took a step back.

"It...wants us to get in?" I asked.

"Nope, just me." Raph shrugged and smiled up at me before moving to get in. I grabbed the back of his shirt, stopping him.

"Wait a sec. How do you know that?" I demanded, letting go.

"It said so." He replied simply and climbed into the car. Before I could say or do anything else, the car had disappeared, churning up dust and a few pieces of gravel in its wake. _Fine. That kid wants to get himself killed, whatever. _I angrily stormed back over to my stuff and put away my violin. I slung my backpack over one shoulder, carrying my violin case in my other hand. I turned and a light blue motorcycle caught my attention. It was the same from yesterday. I rolled my eyes and walked away. I turned the corner, around the school and desided to take one of the back alley ways home. I heard the rumble of an engine behind me and suddenly, the motorcycle was in front of me.

I stopped and raised an eyebrow. "Kid, I just want to talk. There are a lot of things you don't understand." She said.

"Right, sure. And I seriously doubt I want to understand. I have enough problems to worry about without talking veichles following me." I turned away and started to walk back towards the street.

"Look." I turned back around at her sharp tone. She had transformed again, and now was in the form of a 30 ft tall robot, just like the previous night. "Raven, right? Your safety is exactly why Optimus Prime has requested your presence. You are one of the only who have _ever _seen us. And that puts you in danger."

"Girl, what are you waiting for?" A girl's voice interrupted and I spun around to see a young girl, no older than fourteen, sticking her head around the corner. She had long black hair streaked with pink tied back in a ponytail and pink-dyed bangs. She had a goofy grin on her face, brown eyes sparkling in excitement. "Go with!"

"Scrap." I heard the robot behind me mutter. When I looked back, she had transformed into a motorcycle again. "Come on, both of you." Not really wanting to argue anymore with a being that could squash me into a pancake, I climbed on and motioned for the girl to join me.

"No way!" She squealed, running over and climbing on behind me. I balanced my violin case in front of me, keeping a firm grip on the handle bars as the girl held onto my backpack. We took off down the street at speed limit. I'd never ridden a motorcycle before and I must say, it was fun. It would've been more so it the girl behind me wasn't squealing and practically bouncing with joy every two seconds. We caught up with Raph and the black and yellow car quickly. We passed the city limits, cruising along an isolated road. We came to a stop sign at an intersection, but both vehicles blew past it and off the road, towards a large rock formation.

It looked like we were going to crash into it until, at the last second, part of the cliff face slid away along with a large steel gate and we drove inside. We slowed down as we went through a brightly lit tunnel that otherwise seemed to be part of the road. It then opened out into a massive room, filled with all kinds of equipment and computers. There was another tunnel off the adjoining wall but it didn't appear to go anywhere. There were a few raised platforms here and there, accessible by sets of yellow-railinged concrete stairs.

But what astounded me the most were the other two thirty-five foot tall robots in the room. One was red and white, an emergency vehicle I guessed, and the other could only be described as burly and was army green.

"Woah." The other girl and I said at the exact same time. The two of us climbed off the motorcycle and Raph jumped out of the car. The vehicles transformed as I put my violin case down with a gentle thud and looked around in wonder. I flipped my hood back and crossed my arms as I always did in a new place.

"I thought there were two." The white and red one commented.

"Haven't you heard? Humans multiply." The female robot replied. I turned to Raph, deciding that if we were in this mess together, we might as well know each others names.

"I don't think I ever told you my name. I'm Raven." I gave a warm smile.

"Raph, but you knew that already." He nodded.

"I'm Miko." The other girl announced, running up to the green robot. "Who are you?"

"Bulkhead." He replied, sounding somewhat uncomfortable.

Miko gasped as if it were the most wonderful name in the world and began firing off questions. "Are you a car? I bet you're a truck! A monster truck! Do you like heavy metal? How much do you weigh? Ever used a wrecking ball as a punching bag?"

"Oh my god..." I facepalmed.

"So if you guys are robots, who made you?" Raph asked very matter-of-factly.

"Huh. Pulease." The red and white robot scoffed.

Heavy foot steps behind us made the ground shake slightly and the three of us turned to find yet another robot standing there. This one was taller than the rest and looked suspiciously like my truck, same paint colors and all.

"We are autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron, also known as Autobots." He explained. His voice was a dead give away. Yep, this was my truck. I just about fainted but managed to control the overwhelmed feeling that washed over me and took a small step forwards instead.

"Why are you here?" I asked, not in a rude way but I was curious.

"To protect your planet from the Decepticons." He replied.

I thought for a moment. "The cars last night. The ones who tried to kill me? Okay..." I bit my lip, trying to make sense of all this. I glanced back at Raph and Miko, who seemed just as confused as me. "Well, why are those jokers here?"

"A fair question Raven. In part, they are here because our planet is uninhabitable, ravaged by centuries of civil war." He kneeled down so he was closer to us.

"Why were you fighting a war?" Raph was the one with the question this time.

"Foremost, over our worlds supply of Energon, the life blood of all Autobots and Decepticons alike. The combat was fierce, and lasted for centuries. In the beginning, I fought along side one whom I considered to be a brother. But, in war, ideals can be corrupted. And it was thus Megatron lost his way." I listened as he spoke, but was trying to digest everything at the same time. It was one tough pill to swallow, the fact that they'd been here all along and no one in Jasper had a clue. I thought about calling Alex or getting the police. Anything that would get me out of this. But I wouldn't have been able to do either without leaving. And I was still curious.

A sigh from Miko broke me from my thoughts. I'd probably missed part of this history lesson too. "Is there going to be a quiz?" I thought about whacking her upside the head, but she was a total stranger and no matter how annoying she was, I didn't have the right to do that.

"So what does Megatron, our any of this, have to do with us?" I demanded

"Megatron has not been seen or heard from in some time. But if his return is imminent, as I fear, it could be catastrophic." Judging by his tone, I could tell this was incredibly serious. This guy was bad news, and some serious shit would go down if Mega-what's-his-face _did _come back.

_Great, just what I needed. More problems. This is going to be a long night._


	3. Chapter 3: Drunken Problems

_"So what does Megatron, our any of this, have to do with us?" I demanded_

_"Megatron has not been seen or heard from in some time. But if his return is imminent, as I fear, it could be catastrophic." Judging by his tone, I could tell this was incredibly serious. This guy was bad news, and some serious shit would go down if Mega-what's-his-face did come back._

* * *

"And since you now know of our existence, I fear that as of last night, the Decepticons know of yours."

I sighed and crossed my arms again, leaning back slightly with a look of disbelief on my face. "Right. Okay. We see something suspicious, we alert the police. Is there anything else?" I checked my watch. It had been two hours since we arrived and been introduced to the Autobots. "I have to get home."

"Are you kidding me?" Miko asked, sounding angry. "I'm living a dream here in Botswana, and I will not allow you or anyone else to shatter it!" She pointed an accusing finger at me.

"Listen kid." I started, lowering my arms in a defensive way. "I don't know what problems you have, but I'm sure mine are worse. And I don't need all this," I gestured around, "on top of that."

"It is best that you three remain under our watch. At least until we can determine our enemies intentions." Optimus cut our argument short. I sighed as I realized it wasn't up for negotiation.

"Optimus, with all due respect, the human children are in as much danger here as they are anywhere." The red and white one, whose name we'd been told was Ratchet, protested.

I scoffed. "I'm eighteen." I said quietly.

"If they get underfoot…they will go…squish." He finished, giving a small stomp as emphasis. I rolled my eyes.

"Then for the time being Ratchet, we must watch where we step." Optimus brushed off the complaint. Suddenly, the giant computer screens started flashing green and a beeping alarm echoed around the room.

"Is something wrong?" I raised an eyebrow, nodding to the computers.

The yellow and black car named Bumblebee, which I found was a very fitting name, made a bunch of incoherent beeps and whines. "Proximity censor. Someone's up top." Raph translated.

"It's Agent Fowler." Ratchet announced from over at the computer. I pressed a hand against my forehead. Oh great. Another thing I didn't have any clue about. Government involvement.

"I take it we're not the only ones who know about this place?" I sighed again.

"Special Agent Fowler is our designated liaison to the outside world. As he tends only to visit when there are 'issues', it may be best if you do not meet him at this time." Optimus replied. I nodded and shooed Miko and Raph over to the nearest hiding spot. I heard an elevator beep as it came down and a door slide open.

"Seven wrecks, thirty-four fender benders, a three hour traffic jam and on a particular note, several reports of a speeding motorcycle of an unknown make and a black and yellow custom made muscle car. So, anything you want to say, Prime?" I heard the man talking, though I couldn't see him.

"We have the situation under control Agent Fowler." I could hear a hint of annoyance in Optimus's voice.

"They're back, aren't they?" Fowler asked.

"If you are referring to the Decepticons, I have doubts they ever left. Your planet is far too valuable."

"Then it's time to wake up the Pentagon."

_Wow really? They get the Pentagon involved in these things? _I looked back at Raph and Miko and shrugged.

"Hear me Agent Fowler. We are your best, if not your only, defence against the Decepticon threat."

"Says you."

The army green truck named Bulkhead interjected at that moment. "Hey fleshie. Did anyone get splattered on that freeway? Team Prime knows when to use force." He tore a strange looking mechanical-arm type thing off one of the consoles and crushed it in his hand. "And how much to use."

"Bulkhead, I needed that!" Ratchet exclaimed, and I couldn't hold back a quiet laugh. Bulkhead looked at the thing in his hand, as if he just realized what he'd done.

"Enough. Military involvement will only result in catastrophe. Perhaps you can condone wide spread human casualties Agent Fowler. I, however, cannot." Optimus continued.

"Then do us both a favor and handle this Prime. Under the radar. Or I will." With that, Agent Fowler stepped back into the elevator and was gone.

"Pretty big bearings. For a human." Bulkhead commented.

"Agent Fowler is concerned for his world Bulkhead. As he should be." Optimus replied.

"Still an ass, even by our standards." I grumbled as we reappeared from our hiding spot. I climbed up to one of the platforms via a ladder. The final wrung came off as I grabbed it and I sighed. "Jesus christ, how old is this place?"

I placed the piece of metal on one of the tables, promising myself I would fix that later. I carefully leaned against the railing and was about to ask what we were going to do next when something came up on one of the computer screens.

"Blasted earth tech. Cliffjumper's signal just popped back online." Ratchet announced. I was about to ask who they were talking about but Miko beat me to it.

"Who's Cliffjumper?" She piped up innocently but no one paid any attention to her question.

"How is that possible?" Optimus asked.

"It isn't. Another bug. The system's full of them." Ratchet said grimly.

"If there's any chance Cliff is still alive…" Arcee started, sounding hopeful.

"Ratchet, prepare sickbay. We may need it." Optimus turned towards the second tunnel.

"Hey!" Miko called. "What can we do?"

"Remain with Ratchet." Optimus ordered.

Miko groaned and Ratchet didn't seem to thrilled about it either. I, personally, wanted to go as well and get a bit more assurance that this was all real. Suddenly, several rings in the tunnel lit up blue and a bright green and purple vortex or portal appeared. Arcee, Bulkhead, Bumblebee and Optimus transformed, drove towards it and just like that, they were gone. I blinked in surprise. And I had thought this day couldn't have gotten any weirder.

I looked over at Ratchet. "That was...interesting. What exactly just happened?"

"I transported them to the designated coordinates via the ground-bridge." Ratchet shrugged.

"What's a…ground-bridge?" Raph asked.

Ratchet sighed in annoyance. "A down-scaled version of space-bridge technology. Since we don't currently posses the means or the Energon required for inter-galactic travel…"

"You can't leave Earth." I finished, feeling a bit sorry for them.

"But I constructed the ground bridge to enable travel from here to anywhere on your planet." Ratchet nodded, seeming proud.

"Woah. Does it work for humans?" Raph questioned.

"Naturally." Ratchet replied.

"Wow, wow, wow. You mean, I could just zap over to see my parents in Tokyo? Right now?" Miko asked.

"In moments. In fact, allow me to send all three of you there right now."

I knew that trick wouldn't work. "Watch it Ratchet." Miko warned, leaning forward slightly, hands on her hips. Ratchet seemed surprised by her attitude.

"Oh, you just got told." I shook my head and sat down on the platform. I took a small notebook from the back pocket of my jeans and flipped to a new page. I began scribbling down notes on the ground bridge. Things like that just didn't exist on Earth. For the wormhole to be stable, it had to have been continuously fed enormous amounts of energy at a steady rate. A wormhole, also known as an Einstein-Rosen Bridge is a hypothetical topological feature of spacetime that would be, fundamentally, a "shortcut" through spacetime. A wormhole is, in theory, much like a tunnel with two ends each in separate points in spacetime. It would be massive in size and scope, and harnessing one to use whenever needed, to go anywhere on the planet...scientifically it was impossible. Then there were multiple theories to consider, along with faster-than-light travel. I groaned and buried my face in my hands.

"What's wrong Raven?" Raph asked.

"Nothing. I'm trying to figure that thing out." I jerked a thumb towards the ground bridge behind me.

"I highly doubt human science is even close to capable of..." Ratchet started but I cut him off.

"Okay, professor Smarty Pants!" I sighed in exasperation. "It's the same principle. A man named Albert Einstein, a brilliant human scientist, came up with the Einstein-Rosen Bridge theory. The basic notion of an intra-universe wormhole is that it is a compact region of spacetime whose boundary is topologically trivial but whose interior is not simply connected. But he could never prove something like that existed. There were too many theories against it, and the problem of faster-than-light travel. But the impossibility of faster-than-light relative speed only applies locally. Wormholes allow superluminal travel by ensuring that the speed of light is not exceeded locally at any time. While traveling through a wormhole, subluminal speeds are used. If two points are connected by a wormhole, the time taken to traverse it would be less than the time it would take a light beam to make the journey if it took a path through the space outside the wormhole. However, a light beam traveling through the wormhole would always beat the traveler. As an analogy, running around to the opposite side of a mountain at maximum speed may take longer than walking through a tunnel crossing it. But a portal like that on Earth would bend gravity and time around it not to mention collapse in on itself which, obviously, yours hasn't." I finished my little science rant and Ratchet actually looked impressed. Raph and Miko were staring at me like I'd grown a second head. "What? I'm taking a course in inter-stellar theories for science class."

I continued writing in my notebook and soon, I had pages full of equations, theories and diagrams. It was quiet, except the occasional thudding when Ratchet moved around. I suddenly heard Miko ask, "What is this thing anyways?" I looked down from the platform and saw that she was leaning over to touch a strange looking device. I hadn't even noticed she'd gone.

"Broken. Don't touch." Ratchet said. Miko slowly reached out a hand to try and touch it again. "Don't touch that either." Miko winced and gave me a bored look. I shrugged again. There was suddenly a loud whine from the computer. I glanced up and saw that part of the screen had shut itself down. In its place was a pop-up error message.

"How come you're using human computers?" Raph asked.

"It certainly isn't by choice. It was handed down by the previous tenants when we inherited this former missile silo. I make modifications as I see fit." Ratchet explained just as seven more errors appeared on screen. He sighed.

"Modifications my ass." I muttered.

"I think I can fix that." Raph offered, walking over to one of the computers. He took out a laptop and plugged it in to the system.

Ratchet didn't seem to believe him. "Really? You know this is complex technology. I mean it isn't a child's toy." Ignoring him, Raph hacked in and changed a few lines of code before smiling and announcing,

"Now try."

Ratchet turned back to the computers and to his surprise, all the errors disappeared and the screens went back to normal. I stood and patted Raph's shoulder. "We're smarter than you think Ratchet." There was a clatter of something on the floor and I gave a small grin. "Except Miko of course." I meant it as a joke. She was intelligent in her own way, she just hadn't really shown it yet. I sat down across from Raph at the computer and hacked in as well. I wasn't as much of a techie as Raph, but I was trying to learn. I set about fixing some of the bugs and adding additional firewalls but my programming was cut short when Optimus' voice boomed from the main console.

"Ratchet, bridge us back! Use the arrival coordinates now!"

Ratchet pulled a switch and the ground-bridge appeared. I joined Miko and Raph at the railing just in time to see them drive into the base. Something like a cloud of blue powder came from where the ground-bridge had closed but quickly dissipated into the air.

"Cutting it a bit close." Ratchet grumbled. "And what about Cliffjumper?" Judging by the looks on their faces, I could tell that this 'Cliffjumper' guy was dead.

"What was that explosion? Was there a fight? Can I come with next time?!" Miko asked excitedly.

Arcee walked angrily out from behind the group. "Look..." She started but I cut her off by clearing my throat loudly.

"Hey, Miko?" She turned to me with a confused expression on her face, like she couldn't understand why they were upset. "Maybe now's not the best time." She nodded, getting the hint, and stayed silent.

"Arcee, what did you see?" Optimus asked.

"Not Cliff. At least, not anymore. He was mutated, butchered, like something from those 'Con experiments during the war." Arcee suddenly toppled over and grabbed and box to hold herself up.

Bumblebee took a step forwards and chirped worriedly. "I'm fine. Just…dizzy." Arcee shooed him away.

"Robots that get dizzy?" Miko questioned.

"Robots with emotions." Raph commented.

"Robots…that can die." I finished sadly. Ratchet did a scan of Arcee using some sort of green beam. It suddenly turned red as she held out her wrist, indicating that it hurt.

"What's this?" Ratchet demanded. There was a small purple stain on her hand, steam curling off it.

"I don't know. Cliff was covered in it. Leaking it." Arcee shrugged. Ratchet swiped a knife across her hand, collecting some of the substance, probably for study.

"Go take a decontamination bath, now." Ratchet ordered. Bumblebee helped Arcee into another room.

"Hey Optimus?" He turned towards me. "Sorry to bother you but, no cell reception." I held up my phone. It was 10:30 pm, right around when Daniel got home at night.

"A security precaution. The silo walls isolate all radio waves." Optimus said simply.

I sighed. "Well if I don't call Alex right now, I'm pretty sure I'll find him in the hospital. Then Daniel's going to kill me. Miko and Raph should get home too."

"Woah, woah, woah. You _live _with Daniel Gurthery?" Miko demanded. Daniel was well known in our town for being a criminal but he'd never really gone to jail. I nodded, letting a small amount of fear onto my expression.

"Earth customs. I had not considered. But the issue of your safety remains. Bulkhead, accompany Miko home." Optimus announced.

"Awesome! My host parents'll freak!" Miko exclaimed.

"And maintain cover surveillance. In vehicle form." Optimus finished.

"Curb-side duty. Got it." Bulkhead nodded.

"Awwwwwwwwwwwww." Miko groaned, seeming extremely disappointed.

"Bumblebee, you'll watch over Raph." Raph simply smiled. "Ratchet?"

"Hmmm?"

"You'll accompany Raven."

* * *

He wasn't at all thrilled about it but agreed in the end. I sat quietly in the front seat all the way to my house, dreading what I would find. I tapped my fingers nervously on my knees as we pulled up in the driveway. I climbed out and turned, trying my best to smile. "Thanks for the ride Ratchet. I appreciate it." I walked up to the front door and finally let my fear show. With trembling hands, I knocked on the door. The lights were on and I could hear screaming and shouting. I carefully opened the door and managed to duck just in time as a beer bottle sailed over my head. It landed on the concrete behind me, shattering into a million pieces.

"Wherrre hhhave yooouuu beeeeen?!" Daniel's slurred voice came from the kitchen before he stormed out. His blonde hair was a messy mop, his blue eyes clouded but his expression was an enraged one. He was wearing his black leather jacket and ripped jeans, as always. But what scared me the most wasn't the fact he was drunk. It was the fact that he was drunk and coming at me with a knife. "Yoooouuu ungraaatefullll biiittccchhh!"

I took a couple steps back and shot Ratchet a look that said 'leave now' before Daniel was outside and grabbed my shirt, pulling my forwards. His breath smelled heavily of alcohol. "I was out." I replied in a steady, calm and quiet voice. "And you're drunk again Danny. What did you do to Alex and Melinda?"

He threw me back onto the concrete and I lay there for a moment, winded, before struggling to push myself up. "Ratchet, go." I whispered sharply, hoping he would hear me. Daniel yanked me up by my hair and pressed the knife against my cheek.

"Yooouuu'reee woorrrthlesssss." He spat, then swiped the knife across my skin. I bit down on my tongue to keep from crying out. Knowing he was disoriented, I spun around and kneed him in the stomach. I tried to take the knife but he lunged at me and I had to dodge his swing. I kicked him in the back and he went down, dropping the knife in the process. I picked it up and stood over him, looking like some kind of serial killer. But I simply wiped it off on the grass. I rolled Daniel over to see if he was knocked out but suddenly, his hands shot up and grasped my neck. Choking, I was force to my knees. Everything started going red. I found the strength to lift the knife and I clubbed him over the head with the handle. He got off me but took the knife in the process. Groaning, I sat up and watched as he stumbled over to Ratchet. "Niccccee caaar."

Too late I realized what he was doing.

He stabbed the knife through the windshield, creating a hole in the glass. That got me up. I tackled him to the ground and a swift fist to the side of his temple finally knocked him out. Shaking, I stood and wiped some of the blood off my cheek. Without saying a word, I picked up the knife and put it in the trash bin. I opened the garage and pulled Daniel inside like I always ended up doing. To be blunt, it was usually his room. I put him down on the bed, then locked the garage door to make sure he wouldn't get into the house if he woke up. When I turned, I found Alex standing there, looking untouched. I threw my arms around him, tears in my eyes.

"Thank god you're alright." I said as I pulled away. "_Are _you and Melinda okay?"

"Yes, we're fine. He didn't get a chance to touch us. But Raven, why'd you come home so early?" He asked gently.

"Alex, I'm eighteen. You don't need to protect me. I'm sick of coming home and finding you two hurt every night." I replied. "I don't want to lose you guys. You're all I have."

Alex nodded. This was how it always was. We'd never really talk about what happened, because we never wanted to. I would come home and find him or Melinda hurt and fix them up. Melinda would cry and I would comfort her but Alex was very distant. Worried about us, but distant. "Go get fixed up. I don't think you need stitches. Dinner's in the microwave." With that, he turned and went back inside.

I looked over at Ratchet, who'd been silent this whole time. "Are you okay?" I asked quietly, my voice trembling as much as the rest of my body.

"Yes Raven, I'm fine." He replied. "Are you alright?"

I thought about that for a long time, then finally shook my head. "No." I said simply, walking to the door.

"Raven?" Ratchet called after me. I paused, a hand on the door frame. "You shouldn't stay here. Don't your parents know what is happening?"

"I don't...have anywhere else to go Ratchet." I looked back at him, a single tear making a sparkling trail down my cheek. "My parents...aren't around anymore." I wiped my eyes and turned away again. "Thanks for bringing me home. I can take care of myself from here. Go back to base." It came out colder than I meant it to but I didn't leave any room for argument as I shut the door behind me. I listened as he drove away, then the night was silent.

I trudged upstairs and cleaned the cut on my cheek. It wasn't too deep. It would heal quickly. I lay down in my bed and cried myself to sleep.


	4. Chapter 4: Update Coming

Hey everyone!

I know, I know. I promised another chapter. But now that everything's starting back up again (school, theater, homework etc) I'm finding it hard to get the time to write. I promise I **will **continue this story. I have another chapter in the works and as soon as it's adequate, I will post it.

Until then, thank you for being so patient with me.

With love,

Sarah


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